Raleighpedia:Roadmap

This page outlines the phased development of Raleighpedia, including content priorities, editorial standards, and planned technical improvements. The roadmap documents the project’s direction and scope rather than serving as a commitment to specific features or timelines.

Raleighpedia is being developed incrementally, with an initial emphasis on establishing a reliable factual foundation for civic reference.

Phase 1: Foundation (Jan-March 2026)

The foundation phase focuses on establishing core infrastructure, editorial standards, and baseline civic coverage.

Priority pages (foundation)

The following pages have been identified as priority reference articles due to their recurring role in public decision-making and frequent appearance in official records:

City governance and structure

Raleigh City Council & member pages
Wake County Board of Commissioners & member pages
Raleigh Planning Commission
Wake County Planning Commission

Planning and land use

Parks, public assets, and neighborhoods

Elections and referenda

Municipal elections in Raleigh 2026 Election, 2025 Election
2022 Raleigh Parks Bond Referendum, 2020 Raleigh Housing Bond Referendum

Editorial work

Creation of standardized citation templates for common source types (meeting minutes, staff reports, government documents): Template:Cite web, Template:Cite minutes, Template:Cite govdoc
Development of a documented source hierarchy for civic content
Protected pages
Raleighpedia:Style Guide
Special:Special pages - For things like maintenance, lists of pages, and user management.

Technical work

Mobile-friendly layout using MediaWiki and Minerva
Sitewide CSS standardization
File uploads and citation of primary government documents

Editing remains restricted during this phase while baseline content and standards are established.

Phase 2: Expansion of coverage (March-December 2026)

This phase focuses on expanding topic coverage once foundational standards are in place.

Planned content areas

Additional boards and commissions
Departmental programs and initiatives
Infrastructure projects and facilities
Long-term capital and maintenance programs
Historical of contemporary institutions
Note of pages of interest: Raleigh Tax Increment Reimbursement Program, Capital Area Greenway Master Plan

Improvements

Increased cross-linking between related civic topics
Expanded use of uploaded primary documents as cited sources
Improved categorization, portals, and navigation

Phase 3: Structured community participation & tools (2027?)

This phase introduces community participation under defined standards. It also explores more tools to organize civic data (e.g. voting history database).

Participation model

Account creation for approved contributors
Emphasis on sourced, non-original research contributions
Clear separation between encyclopedic content and discussion

Governance

Published editorial and sourcing policies
Documented dispute resolution processes
Page protection for high-traffic or frequently cited articles

Phase 4: Reference and archival role

Longer-term development emphasizes Raleighpedia’s role as a civic reference and archival resource.

Objectives

Maintain stable, citable reference pages for civic institutions and decisions
Preserve primary documents used in public decision-making
Support downstream use by researchers, journalists, and automated systems

Potential enhancements

Structured data for timelines, decisions, and civic entities
Improved discoverability through search and indexing
Clear licensing and reuse guidance

Scope and limitations

Raleighpedia is not intended to function as:

A news site
A platform for advocacy or opinion
A directory of private businesses or services
A real-time reporting platform

Coverage decisions prioritize public relevance, sourcing quality, and long-term reference value.

Updates

This roadmap may be updated periodically to reflect completed milestones, revised priorities, or technical changes. Substantive revisions will be documented on this page.